The Daily Agenda for Thursday, June 20
BREAKING: Exodus International is Shutting Down
Liveblog of Exodus Conference
First Impressions Ahead Of Exodus 2013 Conference
Arizona group to put marriage back on ballot
Exodus International Issues Apology, Hints At Further Developments Tonight
Ex-Gay Leader Sentenced For Criminal Sexual Assault of Male Clients
Andrew Comiskey Doesn't Believe In Apologies
Featured Reports
What Are Little Boys Made Of?
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
David Benkof: Behind the Mask
At first glance, David Benkof appears to be a young gay man who believes that same-sex marriage will damage the institution of marriage, that there are better options for gay couples than marriage, that the community should join him in prioritizing other more pressing issues, and that the marriage discussion is harming the efforts of gay couples in red states to get recognition for their unions. He also claims that he’s a gay columnist, that he speaks for an influential collection of gay thinkers, and that he is part of the gay and lesbian community and that he shares our goals and dreams. But none of that is true.
“Repeat After Me”: The Reparative Therapy Echo Chamber
The April 2008 edition of the pay-to-publish vanity journal Psychological Reports featured a new report from NARTH. Written by NARTH president A. Dean Byrd, past president Joseph Nicolosi, and Richard W. Potts, the report carries the unwieldy but self-descriptive title, “Clients perceptions of how reorientation therapy and self-help can promote changes in sexual orientation.” While the title describes what the authors meant to show — how clients describe the benefits of reparative therapy — the report itself actually illustrates something very different: the ex-gay movement’s remarkable ability to instill an almost robot-like parroting of ex-gay rhetoric among their clients.
Testing the Premise: Is MRSA The New Gay Plague?
The Toronto Star said that a new study “discover[ed] a new strain” of a super-bug “hitting gay men.” Headlines in Britain screamed, “Flesh-eating bug strikes San Francisco’s gay community,” and anti-gay extremists across America spread the alarm that gays were introducing another plague into “the general population.” But there was a small problem with all of this: None of it is true!
Paul Cameron’s World
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
From the Inside: Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out”
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
The Heterosexual Agenda: Exposing The Myths
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don't miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Testing The Premise: Are Gays A Threat To Our Children?
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Straight From The Source: What the “Dutch Study” Really Says About Gay Couples
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
The FRC’s Briefs Are Showing
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
Review: The Gay Report
When Karla Jay and Allan Young published The Gay Report in 1979, it quickly a favorite source of statistics for many anti-gay extremists. But before you accepts these statistic at face value, you should examine the inner workings of this survey very carefully. What you learn might surprise you.
Daniel Fetty Doesn’t Count
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
News, analysis and fact-checking of anti-gay rhetoric
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ODNT
July 11th, 2012 | LINK
What did the polls look like at this point in 2009? How did we perform vs polling?
TampaZeke
July 11th, 2012 | LINK
It’s a shame that so many Republicans are against marriage equality simply because it has become one of those defining litmus test issues right up there with being pro-life. I the Republican Party drops the issue as a “must toe the line” issue I believe a significant portion, perhaps even a majority of Republicans, will become marriage equality supporters. The good news is, Republicans are starting to soften their anti-gay platforms. I think the Young Conservatives for Marriage Equality initiative is brilliant and we be very effective, particularly with young Republicans and conservatives. I applaud those who are working so hard to move the Party into the 21st Century with gay rights and marriage equality.
To be fair, we’re still dragging large parts of the Democratic Party into the 21st Century on the issue too.
Stefan
July 12th, 2012 | LINK
That actually is not the final language. Even if the Secretary of State keeps it as is our say can go to court and likely get it changed.
F Young
July 12th, 2012 | LINK
@ODNT “What did the polls look like at this point in 2009? How did we perform vs polling?”
I wasn’t able to find a poll in June or July 2009 that would compare with this July 2012 poll timing-wise, but I found one on Sept 14-16 2009 of 600 likely voters done by Research 2000.
The question in the Sept 2009 opinion poll by Research 2000 was:
“As you may know there will be one question on the ballot this November in Maine addressing the issue of same-sex unions. In part it will read “Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry?” A yes vote takes away the right of same-sex couples to marry. A no vote keeps the right of same-sex couples to marry. If the election were held today would you vote YES or NO on this question?”
The responses to the Research 2000 opinion poll in Sept 2009 were:
48% yes (oppose same-sex marriage)
46% no
6% undecided.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/09/18/783757/-ME-Init-Gay-marriage-all-tied-up-heading-into-November?via=search
A poll by Public Policy Polling Maine just before the vote showed the numbers had changed to:
51% yes (oppose same-sex marriage)
47% no
2% undecided
(which seems to show that the previously undecided all changed to oppose same-sex marriage).
http://publicpolicypolling.typepad.com/pdf/2009/PPP_Release_ME_1102.pdf
In fact, the actual referendum results were:
53% yes (oppose same-sex marriage)
47% no
(which again seems to show that all the undecided changed to opposition to same-sex marriage)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Question_1,_2009
By way of background, the question on the Nov 3, 2009 referendum was:
“Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?” A vote of “Yes” would repeal the law, while a vote of “No” would uphold the law.
As this BTB article states, the opinion poll results in July 2012 are:
57% Yes (SUPPORT same-sex marriage)
35% No
8% Don’t know
So, for November 2012, even if all the undecided became opponents of same-sex marriage, that still would not come close to defeating same-sex marriage.
Furthermore, the wording of the initiative question for November 2012 has not been finalized. There is a possibility that it will be changed to clarify that it would not affect religious marriage. If the wording were thus changed, support for same-sex marriage would go up even higher.
So, yes, it’s looking good for same-sex marriage in Maine in November 2012.
BTW I am not connected to the campaign and have no inside or in-depth knowledge of it.
JohnAGJ
July 12th, 2012 | LINK
I can’t help but be skeptical of this because we’ve been burned far too often in the past. Too many people either are confused by the poll questions and answer the wrong way, or intentionally lie to pollsters because they are embarassed by their real position. The only poll that I’ll beleive now is the one on Election Day.
ODNT
July 12th, 2012 | LINK
F Young:
Thank you for such a detailed response that was very illuminating.
Another reason to be cautiously optimistic is that the last vote was in 2009, a non-mid-term, non-presidential election year with low turnout, whereas this is a presidential year, which has the highest turnout. Is that something that is priced into the polls already?
Timothy Kincaid
July 13th, 2012 | LINK
Well said, Zeke
Hunter
July 14th, 2012 | LINK
Loathe as I am to make predictions, I suspect very strongly that we can expect a spate of very negative advertising just before the election, when NOM starts pumping money into the campaigns. The ads will be all about preachers going to jail and “Save the Children!” because that has always worked for them.
F Young
July 14th, 2012 | LINK
For what it’s worth, I predict that another factor influencing all the marriage equality referenda in November will be that in October 2012 the US Supreme Court will decide not to hear an appeal on California’s Proposition 8 (and instead agree to hear appeals on the federal DOMA), thus conclusively legalizing same-sex marriage in America’s biggest state.
Stephen Kay
July 15th, 2012 | LINK
Since prop. hate in cali i don’t trust any poll that has support for us listed as under 60%. I have yet to see one and we have yet to win a referendum concerning full marriage.
Stefan
July 15th, 2012 | LINK
For the record, NO poll in any state where there has been a referendum on same sex marriage at any point had support as high as the levels in Maine are. In California the highest they ever showed was 55% opposition and in Maine the highest was 53%.
Maine, Maryland, and Washington have all had polls at or exceeding 55% level of support (or opposition in Maine).
F Young
July 15th, 2012 | LINK
@Stephan “Maine, Maryland, and Washington have all had polls at or exceeding 55% level of support (or opposition in Maine).”
Can you clarify that statement? Did you actually mean:
“Maine, Maryland and Washington now all have polls at or exceeding 55% level of support for same-sex marriage.”
Stefan
July 16th, 2012 | LINK
I meant Maryland in terms of opposition since there referendum if passed would repeal same sex marriage. Sorry for the mix up.
Mark F.
July 16th, 2012 | LINK
I am cautiously optimistic that we will win all 4 referendums (including MN) this November. Call me crazy…
Stefan
July 17th, 2012 | LINK
Mark,
I am very confident that we’ll win Maine and Washington. Minnesota and Maryland I think are tossups, though Minnesota our side has a slight advantage since a blank vote counts as a No. Maryland also has show surges in support for marriage equality since Obama’s announcement.
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